The Despairing Joke
by Epiclot214
Summary: (Teen Joker AU) When the world turns topsy turvy, a certain boy gets his very bad day and he decides to embrace the chaos. Join the Joker as he dedicates his new life to bringing a smile on despair. Rated M for death.
1. One Bad Day

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. Me, I've had a bad day once. I'm not exactly sure what. Sometimes, I remember is one way. Sometimes, another. If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice.

The first real memory I had was the day I lost myself. I'm not exactly sure what happened before the tragic event… at least, what I was doing. Suddenly, everything started to change and all at once, everybody went crazy.

The next thing I remember, the burlap bag was removed from my head. I stood in a row of other high school students on a metal scaffolding. Below us were jumbo-sized canisters of green, glowing chemicals. Standing above us were a strange variety of people. Age, race, sexuality. They all differ in those things. But the one thing they all had in common was the black-and-white bear masks they had over their head. Their leader, a big, burly man, stepped up to approach me.

"P-Please." I begged. "Let me go. I just wanna go home."

"Home?" the man repeated under his bear mask. "Home is where the heart is, and right now, all our hearts belong to despair. So in a way, despair is your home. If you need help to see that…"

The man grabbed my coat and lifted me from the ground. I struggled as he dragged me across the catwalk railing. He made me look down at a large vat of green chemicals. I begged again, but my pleas continued to fall on deaf ears.

In just a minute, I was launched over the railing and plummeted below. I kicked my feet up during the fall hoping to catch something even though I was several feet from salvation. Funny, isn't it?

My entire body made a big splash into the chemicals which burned the ropes that restrained me. I struggled to swim back up, but I kept being dragged down by the chemical's pressure. I gazed down at the bottom of the pool to see a drainage system I was being pulled into. I couldn't escape it. I flowed through the pipes of chemicals without being able to breathe. At the same time, I felt a strange sensation all over my skin, but it was too dark for me to see what. That's when I passed out.

When my eyes opened slowly, I took a minute to look at my surroundings. My vision returned revealing a shore I was getting up from. It was right next to a drainage pipe with green fluid spilling out. I then took a look around the city around me. I saw it as ugly on the outside as it was on the inside. The sky became red, buildings were being destroyed, and I could hear riots from afar.

That's when I looked down to a puddle… and began to chuckle. I saw what the chemicals did to me. My skin became white. My hair changed to green just like my eyes. Even my suit changed to a bright-purple hue. My new appearance was so surprising, it was very laughable. My giggle grew and grew until it became an ear-retching cackle of laughter that stretched out across the entire river.

When I stopped laughing, I grinned and locked my eyes to where the noise was coming from. I could still hear the chaos inviting me to the streets of the town.

"Let's go see what all the fuss is about."

* * *

Strolling through the littered and broken streets, I couldn't help but keep giggling at the mayhem around me. I looked on over and saw several other people in bear masks jumping another group of people in an alleyway. One man took off his mask revealing his scarred face as he repeatedly stabbed a Wall Street guy with his pocketknife. I involuntarily laughed at that too.

I climbed up to the top of a broken car and clapped my hands until I got their attention. They all stared at my white, clownlike face.

"Good evening, everybody!" I called out. "Quite a spectacle. I couldn't have chosen a better time to be born. But if you don't mind, I'd appreciate a little quid pro quo. What's with all the Purge stuff going on?"

The scar-faced man made a hand gesture inviting me on ground level with him. I was happy to oblige. I climbed on down to the street, and he proceeded to push me to the car grabbing my jacket.

"Watch it, pal." I growled. "This just got out of the wash."

"Sounds like you could use a makeover, clown!" the thug said as he held the knife to my face. "Any last words?"

"Actually, yes." I answered. "What do you do with my hands."

Before he had time to respond, I wrapped my fingers on his wrist and thrusted it backwards. The knife was driven into the other guy's face, right where his scar was. I pushed him off before forcing the knife out of his face while the other guys in the masks just stared. The man with the scar fell backwards and ended up dead before me.

Either I killed before or I'm a complete sociopath because I didn't regret what I did. In fact, I laughed again while pointing at the corpse. I waved the knife around left and right while dancing around chaotically. I climbed back on top of the car to continue my dance. I then proceeded to wipe my fingers on the knife until it was covered with blood, which I then used to paint a red, bloody smile over my lips.

The funny thing is, this world had its laws before I fell. But around the same time as my transformation, all that flew out the window. I can't remember who I was before all this, but I'm sure he wouldn't have approved of this world, which is why I'm glad I changed. A world full of hope and order dies and so do I. A more chaotic and despairing world prospers and I'm renewed into this. Just one bad day can turn a man into a monster, and just one bad day can destroy the world.

How's that for a punch-line?

"Now," I said addressing back to the crowd, "Who do I have to go thank for this utopia of discord?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Inspired by the Joker movie. Now, I'm debating on having Joker be an ally or enemy of Junko. So I'll leave it to you, the readers, to decide. Should Joker be with Junko or against her? Any and all comments are welcome._


	2. The Set-Up

**_(No P.O.V.)_**

Though the world was ruined by a certain fashionista and everyone was willing to die for her, everything was being run by a particular group of high school students called the Remnants of Despair.

These students were called into an emergency meeting and told to meet at the Kuzuryu household. The thirteen of them gathered around a long table greeting each other. Although they didn't show it, they still had the madness of despair in their eyes.

"Miss Sonia." Kazuichi Soda greeted the Ultimate Princess. "You're looking well."

"Save your hopeless delusions for later." Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu said. "Where's Nagito?"

"Junko pawned him off to a few kids." Teruteru Hanamura said serving plates of meat to his allies one by one. "At least, that's what I've heard."

"Good thing." Hiyoko said. "That guy was a total creep, but I'd still prefer him over that hopeless case, Mikan."

"My beloved." Mikan said with aroused breath thinking about Junko.

"Can't talk. Eating." Akane said gorging herself on all the food in front of her.

"Now to our dark business." Gundham Tanaka said. "Kuzuryu, your message didn't state on the purpose of this meeting. What exactly is it that you called us here for?"

Kuzuryu stared with just his one eye full of confusion. "What are you talking about? I didn't call for this meeting. You all told me you had something urgent to talk to me about."

"Nuh uh!" Nekamaru Nidai exclaimed. "We were summoned here."

"Well, not by me, obviously." Kuzuryu said while Peko Pekoyama stood behind him glaring around the room. "Then by who?"

The meeting was interrupted by the laughter of a man closing in on them…

**_(Joker's P.O.V.)_**

…My laughter in fact. I marched into the meeting room with an emphasis on each step. All the other kids stared in confusion at me as I took a seat at the end of the table across from the Ultimate Yakuza.

That's right. I already know who these guys are. And all it costed was five lives, plus a tailor to perfect my new purple suit.

"Looks like the circus is in town." I stated. "And now, you have your star clown."

"Who's this clown?" Akane asked.

"How did you get through my guards at the gate?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"I pretended I was a bar of soap and gave them the slip." I answered. "I went through so much trouble to organize this little shindig and I didn't want to miss it."

"You organized this?" Mahiru asked. "Who are you?"

"…Truth be told, I don't actually know myself. I've been brainstorming new names for me. Perhaps… Jack Napier. Or… Jeremiah Valeska. Arthur Fleck? Whatever. It'll come to me. But for now, I want to talk about you guys."

"What about us?" an unknown fat guy asked. I've only heard of him as the Ultimate Imposter.

"Well, when I was reborn as this… unnamed individual, I felt like I was gonna be stuck for the rest of my life. But then, I hear that you people played a part in giving everybody their one bad day. You Remnants of Despair have brought the world on its fractured knees. It's truly a work of art… but I know I can't thank you. Instead, I plan to personally thank the true artist."

The Remnants looked at each other with a certain amount of surprise in their eyes.

"So that's it then?" Kazuichi asked. "You want to see…"

"Yes." I answered widening my blood-covered smile. "I want to see the real person responsible for making an actual Hell on Earth. The girl who's name I keep hearing from her devoted admirers over and over again. The Ultimate Despair! Take me to Junko Enoshima."

The Remnants exchanged suspicious looks before turning back to me.

"And what will you plan to do when you find Junko?" Mahiru asked.

"That's a good question, and I will get back to you on that later." I answered. "Look, I just want to have a chat with her. I'm kinda on the fence on something. There's definitely a lot we have in common, but something feels off. I just want to talk to clear the air."

"Well, hate to break it to you, chuckles," Fuyuhiko said, "But Junko's preoccupied right now. She's got a situation to deal with at Hope's Peak. Don't you watch TV?"

"Oh, you mean that." I said. "Her little reality show about getting the Hope kids to kill each other and drive the world even deeper into despair. Unfortunately, I couldn't find that place, and even if I did, it's sealed off tighter my mom on prom night… or is it the opposite? Either way, I can't get in. I was hoping you guys could call her and make an appointment for me."

"Shows what you know, bozo." Akane said. "We can't call her."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean? You're her top people. Certainly, you should have a secret way to call her, right?"

"Nope." Kazuichi said with a confident smug. "She didn't want anyone to interrupt her, so she told us to break off all communications to her and let her do her thing."

"I see." I said. "So, if I were to, say, gather a small army of folks who see the funny side of things to storm the place and rescue the remaining kids, then neither of you guys would be able to warn Junko?"

The thirteen kids fell silent as reality started to sink in.

"But… you said you didn't know where Hope's Peak was." Mikan said.

"I didn't when I looked." I said. "But when I went inside this house, I came across a Hope's Peak pamphlet left behind. It had its address and location and everything."

"You wouldn't dare." Nidai growled. "Why would you want to save the Hope's Peak kids?"

"I just want to talk to Junko. If saving those guys is the only way to make her so upset, she'll have to confront me herself, then so be it. Besides, I may not have another chance. Junko may not see it, but I do. Those kids, if they get the strength, will be her undoing. Really, you should be thanking me. If Junko's dead, then the rest of you go back to being the pathetic losers you were before the tragic event. Even Kuzuryu will go back to being a softie."

"Enough from the clown!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "Peko, get rid of him!"

Peko Pekoyama grabbed her sword and started to dash toward me, but I knew better. I paused her when I opened up my purple jacket. It was tight with all those explosives around my chest, but I knew it got their attention. The starting point would be the grenade I had above my belly button, which I threatened to pull the pin out of.

"Now, now, now." I said. "Let's not blow this out of proportion." I laughed again.

"Shut it!" Kuzuryu said making me stop. "You think you can threaten us and just walk away?"

"Yeah."

"I'm putting the word out!" Kuzuryu growled. "A huge reward for someone who can bring me this joker dead. Double it if he's alive so I can teach some manners first."

"Whatever you say, pal." I said waddling backwards.

As soon as I left the house, I removed my dummy explosions and toy grenade from my chest and tossed them behind me. I laughed once more. When I caught my breath, I thought back to what the Ultimate Yakuza called me.

"Joker, huh? What a nice ring to it."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Now, I originally planned for Joker to have his own brand of fun in this dystopia that Junko created while messing with the Future Foundation, but over time, I gained a new idea, a plot that will definitely work. But first, Joker is going to have to mess with Junko a bit. Yes, after a lot of reviews, the idea of Joker being a rival for Junko wins by a landslide. Let's see where this goes. Any and all comments are welcome._


	3. Prop Comedy

(Joker's P.O.V.)

This has to have been the most hilarious class trial yet. The muscle girl who everyone realized is a traitor killed herself. Not only that, but the only girl who defended her tried to make it so that they all died together. And it was because the bear, Monokuma, forged a suicide note to stir up the killing game. Honestly, I found it hysterical.

Afterwards, when the children rallied and vowed to defeat Monokuma together, the bear set an example by destroying a laptop with an AI in it. Monokuma then read Sakura Ogami's real suicide note and almost revealed a secret about the mastermind doing something to the Ultimates' bodies. Monokuma stopped himself, but he couldn't stop me.

"May I cut in?" I announced and I slid into the trial room. All the remaining students were almost as surprised to see me as Monokuma.

"Whazza?" the bear cried out in shock. "Where did you come from?"

"When a papa clown and a mama clown love each other very much…" I stopped myself with my laughter.

"Who… What are you?" asked the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, Byakuya Togami.

"Call me… the Joker! And believe it or not, I'm here to get you all out."

"Hold on a second!" Monokuma shouted. "Listen, clown-boy, I don't know how you got in here without my permission, but…"

I shut him up by pulling out my gun and pointed it right at his face. A gulping sound came out of the bear and the Ultimates gasped in fear.

"Wait!" Monokuma begged. "You don't want to do this! Violence against the school headmaster is against the rules! You'll be punished for this!"

"Don't be stupid!" Byakuya shouted.

"Please, no!" Yasuhiro yelled.

"That's a terrible idea!" Kyoko Kirigiri insisted.

"Well, now, I gotta." I replied as I pulled the trigger.

"BANG!" That's what it read on the white flag that popped out of the gun nozzle. Everyone sighed in relief, even Monokuma.

"Puhuhu." He laughed softly. "Even I gotta admit, that was a bit funny."

"Really?" I asked. "Then laugh at this!"

I pulled the trigger again, and this time, the flag shot out like a bullet. It impaled Monokuma straight through his chair. Me and the Ultimated dashed for cover right before he blew up in a fiery explosion.

"That oughta keep him busy." I said. "Come on, boys and girls. We're blowing this popsicle stand!"

"Are you insane?" Makoto Naegi asked.

"Yes, but that's not the point." I replied. "Unless you want to deal with an angry panda-bot, I insist you follow my lead. I'm trying to get you out."

They didn't say a word. They knew they had no choice but to follow me to the elevator. At the corner of the elevator sat my bag that I left before. I opened it up and rummaged through it.

"What's going on?" Aoi Asahina asked.

"I'm trying to get you out. Duh." I replied. "Didn't I just say that a second ago?"

"Wow. You are one crazy freakshow, and that's coming from me." Said the Ultimate Serial Killer, Genocide Jill.

"How did you get in this school?" Kyoko asked. "Everything's sealed shut."

"I'll show you in a bit. For now, I'll just say I'm glad the mastermind's attention was just to the trial and not to the front door." I said. "For now, let me show off my party favors."

As soon as I grabbed all my gear, including my machine gun, I pulled out an MP3 player and selected a song to listen to. It was "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen.

As I predicted, as soon as the doors opened, there would be trouble. Across the hallway were scores of Monokuma bears. While the song played, I fired my machine gun at the first wave while the Ultimates stood back watching me.

When my machine gun ran out of ammo, I threw it away and advanced while pulling out a crowbar in one hand and a joy buzzer in the other. With the crowbar, I bashed in the heads of each Monokuma. With the joy buzzer, I short-circuited them with each slap. I was choreographing the fight with the music I was playing perfectly.

Next, I stomped on the ground revealing a switchblade hidden in my shoe, which I used to punt every Monokuma I run to. And I sprayed some more with acid that I hid in my lapel. Their front halves were corroded instantly.

A couple of Monokumas were able to jump me and try to pin me down, but I a managed to slip out. My jacket came with fake hands which made it easier to escape. When my jacket hit the floor, it revealed some explosive mines with my face in them. They blew up instantly. The Ultimates ran through the smoke.

Eventually, we made it to the front. I laughed when I saw my handiwork. There was nothing like seeing a smile carved through a steel door with acid. I even widened the mouth to make it look like it was laughing. And we used the open mouth to escape. The Monokumas stopped coming after us after that.

"Was that smile thing really necessary?" Aoi Asahina asked.

"I am an artist." I explained. "I will not compromise."

"Uh, guys." Makoto said as he looked around. Everyone else saw too.

All around us, the entire world was a complete dystopia. A real nightmare to behold. The skies were red and many buildings were destroyed. In the distance was a massive version of Monokuma continuouslty wrecking the city.

"What happened?" Yasuhiro asked in a panic. "What's going on?"

"Oh. All that?" I answered. "Yeah, the world's kinda blown up."

"What are you talking about?" Kyoko asked. "How did this happen?"

"I'll tell you more when we get to my hideout. I've got friends who are dying to meet you."

"Why?" Makoto asked. "And why did you help us?"

"Let's just say… I'm trying to get the mastermind's attention."

* * *

(No P.O.V.)

It would be safe to assume that the mastermind was not happy. She stepped out of the computer room and approached the smiley face on the wall. The Ultimate Fashionista, the Ultimate Despair, couldn't help but be conflicted. On one hand, she felt some amount of despair that her hard work was ruined. On the other, she was also disappointed to see that it was all undone by a pasty-faced clown she had no previous association. Thus, Junko Enoshima could only arrive at one conclusion…

"Of course, you realize this means war."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Sorry if this seems a bit rushed. I haven't updated this in a while and I made a personal promise to finish by today. Hope that's okay. Anyway, now, the Joker and the students of Hope's Peak (or what's left of them) meet. Any and all comments are welcome._


	4. Dinner and a Show

When Makoto woke up, he was startled as he could barely see. All he could find was brown burlap over his head. He wanted to remove it, but something had bound hid hands to wooden armrests. He struggled, but they were tied tight.

"Hello?" the Ultimate Lucky Student asked. "Is anyone there?"

"Naegi." A regal voice called out. "Naegi, are you there?"

"Byakyua!" Makoto recognized. "Are you all right?"

"I'm tied to a chair, I've got a burlap sack over my head, and something smells suspiciously like carnival food." Byakuya said. "What do you think?"

"Oh, master!" a woman's voice cried out.

"Toko!" Makoto called out.

Byakuya sighed. "Of course."

"Master, I'm glad to hear your voice, but I want to see your face."

"That's gonna be hard to do when we're like this."

"Hina! Am I glad to hear you."

"Yo, Naegi, my man!"

"And Hiro too. That just leaves…"

"That's right. I'm here."

"Kyoko!"

"Great." Byakuya said. "And now that we're all here, would someone mind telling me what's going on?"

"All I know is that some creepy clown guy broke into the academy and dragged us outside while fighting off a bunch of Monokumas." Hina said.

"Yes, and it appears the outside world is in worse shape than we thought." Kyoko said. "The buildings were destroyed, the sky was red, and it smelt awful. I think that's how we passed out in the first place."

"Well, why are we here?" Hiro asked. "And why are we tied up?"

"Did Master Byakuya do this?" Toko asked.

"Hardly." Byakuya asked sternly. "Obviously, the clown did this."

"But why?" Makoto asked.

"You can ask him in a bit, short stack." A new voice answered.

Makoto felt a hand grab the top of the sack and pull it off of his head. The boy was finally able to look around him. First, at the long buffet table in front of him. Then, all his other friends tied up. Then, the tent that they were all in. And finally, the man who helped him see. It was a thin man with a black witch hat, a jack-o-lantern theme outfit, gray skin, and a face with a skull painted.

"AH!" Makoto gasped. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Ghoul. And we've got quite a party planned for you."

Makoto saw several strange people approach behind the captive Ultiamtes. One was a large, bald, very pale man who stood behind Byakuya. The other was a fat man with a pink undershirt and a clown mask. That one was behind Yasuhiro. There were also two identical girls with clown face-paint. The two had Kyoko and Asahina in front of them. Lastly, right behind Toko, there stood a being that didn't even look human, not with wolf/hyena like fur and a feral-sounding laugh. Each of them pulled off the sacks from their individual kids.

"AAAAHHH!" Toko screamed when she saw the man-beast next to her.

"Don't worry about him." The man in the clown mask assured. "Woof doesn't bite… much."

The teens looked outside. It looked like a carnival with park rides and game booths. It was packed with people wearing clown masks and makeup. Everyone looked like they were having fun, but the Ultimates certainly weren't.

"What's going on?" Byakuya asked. "Why are we here?"

"Someone's really calm, Dee Dee." One of the identical girls told her counterpart.

"Calm like a squirrel on caffeine, Dee Dee." The other responded.

"Ease up there, pretty boy." Ghoul said. "That's for the boss to explain."

Everyone turned their attention to the podium next to the table. Standing on top of it was the same person who guided them out of the school. The Joker posed like a showman in his purple suit and carnival hat. He spun around a purple cane as he walked down.

"Welcome, my little Ultimates." The Joker exclaimed. "I hope you're having as much fun as I hope!"

"We're not!" Hagakure shouted. "Let us go! You can't keep us tied up like this!"

"Tied up?" the Joker gave a confused look until he saw the straps on the arm chairs. "Guys, why are our guests tied up."

"Don't look at me!" Chucko said. "It was Ghoul's idea!"

"Hey, as soon as they were knocked out, that sicko with the glasses woke up instantly and tried to stab me with scissors!" Ghoul said. "You'd do the same thing!"

"Oh, that." Toko said nervously.

"Let them go. They're honored guests." The Joker said.

The circus-looking people looked at each other while approaching each Hope's Peak student. They released their wrists and let them rub them.

"I do so apologize." The Joker said. "These people can be so impulsive."

"All right then." Kyoko said. "Would you mind telling us what's going on? We have a lot of questions."

"Of course." The Joker said as he pulled out a seat and sat in between everyone. "Ask away, my pretties."

"First of all, where are we and why are we here?" Byakuya asked.

"You're in Amusement Mile, of course." The Joker answered. "The most fun amusement park in the world. I gave it the official Joker seal of approval myself. As for why you're here, I had to bring you here after saving you from Hope's Peak Academy. It's a good thing you kids didn't account for acid when you set up those iron bars."

"What?" Makoto asked. "Hold on, we didn't set those up. We were knocked out and woke up with those bars already there."

The Joker chuckled. "You actually think that. But too bad you're wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Kyoko asked. "That's how I remember it."

"You only remember what Junko Enoshima wants you to remember."

"Junko Enoshima?" Hagakure asked. "Wait, you mean the fashionista chick? She's dead."

"Nope. That wasn't her." The Joker chuckled again. "You fell for quite a good trick. After all, if you remembered the real Junko Enoshima, you wouldn't be fooled by that."

"What are you talking about?" Byakuya asked. "If that wasn't Junko, then who was it?"

"That was her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, the sixteenth student." The Joker said. "She's commonly known as the Ultimate Soldier, but she's also known as the Ultimate Despair same as her sister."

"Ultimate… Despair?" Makoto asked. "Wait. None of this makes any sense."

"I… I have another question." Toko said. "Earlier, after you got us out of Hope's Peak, the city was in ruins. What happened?"

"The world's been destroyed." The Joker said. "Been that way for about a year." The Ultimates were stunned silent by that sudden revelation. He laughed again. "Oh, you're faces. Wait." He pulled out a handheld camera and took a picture.

"What do you mean the world's been destroyed?" Makoto asked. "We've only been in school for a few weeks, and everything seemed fine!"

The Joker pulled out a joy buzzer and pushed it with his thumb letting it make a buzzing sound. "EGH! Wrong! It hasn't been a few weeks. Junko found a way to erase your memories of your school life."

"That's ridiculous!" Hagakure exclaimed. "You're saying we all have amnesia! Can we really believe in such sci-fi stuff like that?"

"Actually, it does answer some questions." Kyoko said. "In her suicide note, I remember Sakura saying the mastermind did something to our bodies. It must have been amnesia. Not only that, but there's one other thing. I didn't want to bring this up before until I got some answers… but I have no idea of my past. Other than my name, I know nothing about myself."

"Seriously?" Makoto asked.

"Sounds like you got hit with a much more massive dose." The Joker said. "Not surprising, considering who you are."

"And who do you think I am?" Kyoko asked.

"Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective!" the Joker announced. "Daughter of the late principal of Hope's Peak Academy, Jin Kirigiri! If you were allowed to remember who you were, Junko's plan would've been foiled too early."

"What?" Toko asked. "Kyoko… is the principal's daughter?"

"Wait." Kyoko said. "What do you mean 'late'?"

The Joker giggled. "Hate to break it to you, 'glovely', but your old man bit the dust after Junko took over the school."

Kyoko's eyes widened at the sound of the news. She then looked down gripping her hands together. "Why? Why did he die?"

"Because he stood between Junko and you kids." The Joker replied. "You see, after the world went all topsy turvy, you all sealed yourselves with the principal in the school and boarded everything up to protect yourselves. Unfortunately, Junko was already among you."

"You're saying we put up all those metal plates?" Hina asked. "And the principal stayed with us to try to protect us."

"Guess he didn't do a good job if he couldn't even figure out a murderous psychopath in his student body." Joker laughed making Kyoko even more upset.

"But why the amnesia?" Makoto asked. "And what was the point of the killing game? Why not just kill us?"

"Based on what I learned, not everyone wants to play in Junko's Purge. She actually has people trying to fight her. For some reason, she sees them as a threat, so she decided to weed out the hope among the despair by torturing you kids."

"Torture?" Toko asked anxiously.

"Yeah." Ghoul replied. "That crazy kid's been televising everything you kids have been through since before you began."

"You all were working so hard trying to escape, that some of you ended up killing each other." One Dee Dee said.

"Only the world was already destroyed leaving you with nothing out here." The other twin added.

"You kids are meant to be the hope of the future." The Joker said. "If the world saw you all kill each other, the little remains of hope would flicker into nothingness. Flicker, flicker, flicker." He laughed again, only harder this time.

"If this is true…" Makoto said, "Then what does this have to do with you?"

"Nothing, really." Joker said. "I just wanted to get Junko's attention, and interrupting her killing game would definitely do that."

"You just wanted Junko's attention?" Hina asked. "Why?"

The Joker shrugged. "The truth is, I'm not complete. One of those despair doofuses threw me in a vat of chemicals and changed my life. I don't know who I used to be, but I don't care because I love myself now!" His smile then lowered as he stared at the glass of whine in front of him. "Although, I can't help but feel like something is missing. I've got influence. I've got an army that I joked out of Junko's influence. I've got a fancy hideout. But something about me feels incomplete. It's like I need something that'll push me to become a perfect Joker. Now, Junko, she appears to have it figured out. She's a worldwide sensation and she clearly loves what she does. I just need to figure out what she has that I don't… other than boobs of course." He resumed laughing.

"So you want a one-on-one chat with Junko because of an identity crisis?" Makoto asked. "That's insane."

"And so am I." Joker laughed. "Of course, I think I may need to do more. Thankfully, events are already in motion."

"What do you mean?" Chucko asked. The other clowns looked at him as if they were also kept in the dark.

"See that man out there?" the Joker asked pointing outside. The Ultimates gasped in fear as they saw a bunch of clowns playing hacky-sack with a bloody human head. "That man used to be Yusuke Daizono, a high-ranked agent for Future Foundation, the organization that's leading the charge against Junko. Those suits are looking everywhere for him."

"That's nice." Bonk said. "But there's no way they're going to be looking in a place like this?"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Joker said. "I did give them a call with his earpiece before the party."

Everyone widened their eyes as they pulled out their phones to look at the images the Joker texted them. Suddenly, a whirling sound echoed from the sky. The group looked up and saw the three helicopters that shined their spotlights all over the amusement park.

Out of anger, Bonk grabbed the Joker's collar and held him up. "You sellout! You ratted us out to the suits! I had my doubts about you, but now, I'm really going to mess you…"

BAM!

Carnival music played as the Joker pulled out a pistol from his back pocket and fired a bullet into Bonk's chest. The strongman released the Joker, who proceeded to shoot three more bullets until Bonk fell backwards before dying. The Ultimates gazed in fear while the Joker dropped his gun and fixed his collar.

"Don't wrinkle the threads." The Joker turned to the others. "Now, you won't cause any trouble, will you?"

"No, boss." Everyone said at once.

"That's better. Now, release the kids and safely bring them out."

The goons obeyed while the Joker stepped out of the tent. He told his fellow clowns to stay calm and don't resist while the spotlights shined on him. He looked up at the air vehicles with a devilish grin across his face. He proceeded to do a slow dance for everyone to see as if he was doing a sad swan dance. Several agents zipped down and pointed their guns at the clowns immediately making them freeze. A few of them went into the tent the Joker exited to secure the kids.

Suddenly, the Joker was approached by a man in a white suit and white hair. He held a large katana across his waist.

"You there. My name is Munakata. I work for Future Foundations."

"Hi there, Mr. 'I-Work-For-Future-Foundations'." The Joker laughed.

His laughter ended when Munakata pulled out his sword and held it to his face. "I'm in no mood for games. We've got some questions for you. But first, you're coming with us."

"Jabol!" the Joker saluted in a German accent. He nodded to his fellow clowns and they all let the Future Foundation agents apprehend them and take them away.

The Joker was strapped up like Hannibal Lecter. He gave a small laugh as he was carried away. During that time, he whispered one small thing.

"This should be fun."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_Now, the Joker meets the Future Foundation. What's his plan now that he's in their custody? You'll just have to wait and see._

_Any and all comments are welcome._


End file.
